Fine 8-course CNY Epicurean Experience at Shisen Hanten

Author: Alex Chua

Have a luxurious start to the year with Chef Chen Kentaro at Shisen Hanten – the highest Michelin-rated Chinese restaurant in Singapore for three 3 years in a row. Located on the 35th floor at Mandarin Orchard Hotel, this elegant restaurant, with its opulent chandeliers and dramatic flowers arrangement, is set to impress diners and guests alike. For the year of the pig the acclaimed Szechuan restaurant features seven auspiciously-themed set menus – from the eight-course Prosperity menu at $538++ for four persons, to the Splendour menu that features Braised Four-head Australian Abalone among its courses, at $2,588++ for 10 persons.

If you’re mesmerized by the 90’s original hit Jap TV show Iron Chef since young like me, be delighted to know that this swanky restaurant is started by the ‘Father of SzeChuan Cuision’ Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenmin. You wouldn’t want to give this place a miss now would you?


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The signature Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Crab Roe Soup is simply seductive and excellent. What is noteworthy about this is the subtle foie gras aftertaste which paired so well with the hot fresh crab roe chawanmushi soup. It is also a refreshing change from the double boiled shark’s fin soup that we see on so many menus nowadays. The Deep Fried Prawn Balls with Yuzu Sauce is executed superbly, crispy with a burst of mellow citrusy. You could definitely tell how fresh the prawn is from the first bite.


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The ultimate gastronomic experience I have is the sizzling Sichuan delicacy Wok-fried East-spotted Grouper with Shishito Pepper. The succulent flavors are accented by accents of Shishito Pepper and while mildly spicy it wasn’t overwhelming so. Bathed in golden broth that numbs the tongue and satiate the senses, this fiery signature is not to be missed.


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Have the best of both worlds with a duo of Braised Baby Abalone and Black Moss with Beancurd. A CNY must-have, the tender baby abalone is perfectly braised and the beancurd soaked up that rich umami broth. When eaten together with the black moss there’s a nice contrast of textures from the tender abalone, the slightly drenched moss and soft beancurd. Flavors well-balanced, this dish is purely a match-make in food heaven.


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What I am anticipating most is perhaps the Stir-Fried Iberico Pork with Spicy Sweet and Sour Sauce. The prized iberico pork slices are layered on one end of the plate, the sauce and accompany veg placed on another end. While the presentation of this dish has a touch of western interpretation, the taste of the savory pork is very much Szechuan.


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Ending the sumptuous 8-course dinner is the visually pleasing Double-Boiled Hashima with Yam Paste served in Young Coconut: a delight to look at, a delight to spoon it up and enjoy. I expect something light but the taste is much stronger. Nevertheless, to me anything coconut and creamy is addictive.

Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro
333 Orchard Road, Level 35, Orchard Wing, Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Singapore 238867

Perk Up Your Palate this CNY @ Song Garden

Author: Alex Chua


Known for its dim sum and mouth-watering egg tarts, Song Garden has been a favourite for many families. Located on level 2 of Mercure Singapore Bugis Hotel where Bugis Street meets Bras Basah in one of Singapore’s more authentic areas, Song Garden offers a trove of auspicious modern Cantonese dishes to user in a prosperous Year of the Pig. Reunion feast anyone?

What can be more celebratory than a toss of Yu Sheng? The Prosperity Salmon and Fresh Fruit Yu Sheng has all the tried-and-tested essentials of Yu Sheng inside the giant bowl of auspicious red. The wooden chopsticks are much longer than usual to accommodate such a big bowl.


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The simmering Lobster with Pumpkin Puree served in Hot Stone Pot with Bacon Scallion Pencil is popular with the diners. The delectable pumpkin puree is now enhanced with generous amount of lobster meat. It was so delicious that I slurped up every last drop. Careful don’t touch the rim because it is scalding hot.


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Nothing shouts more CNY than Pen Cai. The Song Garden Supreme Fortune Pot is braised full of delectable delicacies like 8-head Abalone, Roast Duck, Crispy Pork Belly, Dried Oysters, Sea Cucumber, and the naturally sweet Scallop – which I fell in love with. One sip of the thick gravy will bring you to taste bud heaven.


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Don’t leave without giving the Golden Pillow White Pepper Pork Ribs Bun a try. An absolute crowd-pleaser, this savoury peppery pork ribs suits perfectly with the white bun custodian of pillowy texture. Brought back childhood memories of my great-aunt’s version of this irresistible dish.


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For those with a sweet tooth, a great end to the meal is the Double-boiled Peach Resin with Fungus and Red Dates. Cooling and refreshing, this traditional dessert screams Cantone-sia. You’ll find it hard to stop at just one sip.

Song Garden @ Mercure Singapore Bugis
122 Middle Road Singapore 188973

Weekdays
Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm to 10pm

Weekends/ Public Holiday
Lunch: 11am to 3pm
Dinner: 6pm to 10pm

Aone Claypot House

Sponsored

We are both “westerners” and by that i mean we both stay in the west areas. As such, we always fall short of exploring things at the east side of the island. This time around, we decided to explore the new Kallang wave mall which brings me to one of the more outstanding restaurants residing within it: Aone Claypot House ! Here, we put their dishes to a test and see if it does live up to its repuration and score an A1 in our food-“Testing”!

Here are the two eager & hungry “invigilators”:

 

Kickstarted with their porridge with century egg and lean meat. I enjoyed having this dish very much because of the quality of the porridge. It was palatable and have a smooth texture. To achieve this, it is obvious they took time to cook the grains. Hence, I appreciated this fact that they focused on the quality of the food despite the long queue outside the shop.

 

Not only so, the portion of ingredients given such as the lean meat and century eggs were very generous. Hence, don underestimate this seemingly small pot here; it could easily feed a table of 3-4 men.

 

Next is the grand line-up. Why i call it grand is because of the atas name of this next dish: “Four Heavenly Kings (四大天皇)”. With such a name, there is simply no way we could have missed that out right!

So here you have it!

Basically, it comprised of deep fried fish, long beans, french beans and brinjal cooked in sambal. Both of us loved this dish and I must say it served as the perfect pairing with any porridge dishes!

 

Not just the quality of the food, we were also pretty impressed with the outlook of their dishes. Take for instance, their Minced meat wrapped in Fish Maw with brocolli.

 

The omelette was cooked with pork floss. What a unique way! A combination of savory and sweet.

 

To balance up the meal, we ordered a fish dish: Fried Cod fish!

A-one did not disappoint on the quality of this dish as well. This mouth-watering dish was not too saltish making it a very elderly-friendly dish. Furthermore, the fish meat melted upon touching my tongue. If I had to rack my mind to complain about this one, it is just the portion could have been bigger!

But to be fair, it was shared among 5-6 people on that day. I almost couldn’t resist calling another serving!

 

 

 

 

Fried Fish in Salted Egg sauce. Yumzzzz…

 

Herbal Chicken which left all of us wanting for more! The meat were thoroughly soaked with the taste of herbs. Most families would certainly love this for sure.

 

In short, we were both very satisfied with the quality of the food they served! They have indeed surpassed our expectation of the food “testing” and passed with flying colours to deserve that A1 score & name!

 

Not only have they passed our test, they have also passed others so as to be awarded the Singapore Brand Award 2012 and the Excellent Food Award in 2013!

 

I have faith that with a greater share of voices within the local community, they will soon be a big name in time to come as one of the top-notch restaurants serving local crusines!

 

They have a total of 9 outlets in Singapore. For full list of the outlets and more information, please visit: http://www.aoneclaypot.com.

Preparing yourself for CNY

I am almost done with the preparations for CNY except getting new clothes.

Firstly, I got my black roots touched up at SalonB by Oscar. He always leave me a happy girl after every session. It seems like he could do magic to my dry hair. I always leave him to decide my length/colour and he always know what I want, or what would suit me better.

Salon B is located at 1 Nassim Road #02-03 Singapore 258458
Tel: 6836 5855/9819 0183

Please call them to make an appointment cause they are always busy and packed. Quote “Blogger Maybeline” to get 20% off all chemical services.

Next, I had my New Year nails done at Beau Essentials by Sophia.

I click with her extremely well! She was also awarded with quite a number of awards for her nail designs and skills! You have to visit her!

All I have to do is to show her what I want by googling for pictures on the internet and she could make them appear on my nails.

Beau Essentials is located at Beauty World –
Upp Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, Singapore 588177
Tel: 6468 0979

I just can’t decide on my CNY design yet~

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Now, I am done with these. But what about the skin?

As usual, HADA LABO SHA Hydrating Lotion! This is one of my essential skincare in my entire routine. I seriously do not know what to do without it.

My 3 in 1 doink doink!

On top of the outer application, I take Collagen powder from Fancl as well. I like how conveniently the HTC Collagen comes in sachets because I would not overtake or undertake it and I consume it on a daily basis so it actually saves me a lot of time!

I tend to drink it with iced coffee before I start my day. Remember, Collagen is extremely important for the skin. It can reverse aging and keeps the skin supple and firm! Exactly what you need before staying awake all night during Lunar New Year for all the gambling or gathering sessions.

The fastest way to get rid of tired and dull looking eyes to prepare the face for the upcoming Chinese New Year is probably by pampering myself at Astique Clinic – Vitamin C Eye Rejuvenation or for some botox/fillers to enhance the features!

With all the love from the sponsors and brand, I can look even prettier for the upcoming Lunar New Year!

Trust me, you can too! 😉